Possessive pronouns are used in English to avoid repeating information that is already clear.

In general it makes the sentence less confusing because the same information is not being
repeated.
This book is my book, not your book. (Sounds repetitive)
This book is mine, not yours. (Mine and yours are possessive pronouns)
In the sentence, mine is a possessive pronoun that replaces my book.
In the sentence, yours is a possessive pronoun that replaces your book.
The possessive pronouns in English are as follows:
Subject
Possessive
Pronouns
I Mine
You Yours
He His
She Hers
It Its
We Ours
You (pl) Yours
They Theirs

Examples:
I didn't have my umbrella so Marta lent me hers.
(I didn't have my umbrella so Marta lent me her umbrella).
Her car is faster than mine.
(Her car is faster than my car).
That food is ours and not theirs.
(That food is our food and not their food).
I know this drink is yours but I need to drink something.
(I know this drink is your drink but I need to drink something).
Remember that with possessive pronouns there are no apostrophes (').
Of yours
It is also very common to say a friend/some friends + of + possessive pronouns.
I saw one of your friends last night.
I saw a friend of yours last night.
Both of these sentences are correct and both common in English.

Yours faithfully - Yours sincerely
Yours is also used in English with faithfully or sincerely at the end of a formal letter or e-
mail. The two common expressions are:
Yours faithfully (If it someone that you don't know)
Yours sincerely (If it is someone that you know)
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns.
Every pronoun must have a clear antecedent (the word for which the pronoun
stands).
KINDS OF PRONOUNS
A. Personal Pronoun
SINGULAR PLURAL
subjective objective possessive subjective objective possessive
1
st

person
I me my, mine we us our, ours
2
nd

person
you you your, yours you you your, yours
3
rd

person
he
she
it
him
her
it
his
her, hers
its
they

them their, theirs
Personal pronouns have the following characteristics:

1. three persons (points of view)
1st person - the one(s) speaking (I me my mine we us our ours)
2nd person - the one(s) spoken to (you your yours)
3rd person - the one(s) spoken about (he him his she her hers it its they their theirs)
Examples

2. three genders
feminine (she her hers)
masculine (he him his)
neuter (it its they them their theirs)
Examples


3. two numbers
singular (I me my mine you your yours he him his she her hers it its)
plural (we us our ours you your yours they them their theirs)
Examples

4. three cases
subjective (I you he she it we they)
possessive (my mine your yours his her hers our ours their theirs)
objective (me you him her it us them)
Examples - subjective case


Examples - possessive case

Examples - objective case

NOTE: Because of pronoun case, the pronoun's form changes with its function in the
sentence. Follow this link to pronoun case for more information.



Definition
A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that attributes ownership to someone or something.
Like any other pronoun, it substitutes a noun phrase and can prevent its repetition. For
example, in the phrase, "These glasses are mine, not yours", the words "mine" and "yours"
are possessive pronouns and stand for "my glasses" and "your glasses," respectively.
Examples

This is our house. It's ours.
This is my bedroom. It's mine.
This is my brother's bike. It's his.
Subject Pronouns I you he she it we you they
Possessive
Adjectives my your his her its our your their
Pronouns mine yours his hers its ours yours theirs
The words "mine, yours, his, hers, its , ours, theirs" are possessive pronouns. They show
who or what something belongs to.
Note
1. A possessive pronoun differs from a possessive adjective.
Examples:
What color is your brother's jacket?
His jacket is black.
(your and his are possessive adjectives; your and his modify the noun jacket in
both examples)
What color is yours?
Mineis blue.
(yours and mine are possessive pronouns - yours functions as a subject
complement in the first example; minefunctions as a subject in the second
example)
2. "I t's" is not a possessive pronoun or adjective; it is a contraction of it is or it has.
Example:
It's not my book = it is not my book
It's got five bedrooms = it has got five bedrooms
Review:
Subject
Pronouns
Possessive
Adjectives
Possessive
Pronouns
Reflexive
Pronouns
Object
Pronouns
I my mine myself me
you your yours yourself you
he his his himself him
she her hers herself her
it its its itself it
we our ours ourselves us
you your yours yourselves you
they their theirs themselves them


Possessive Adjectives
Warning! These are adjectives. Don't confuse them with pronouns!
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something. The possessive
adjectives are:
my, your, his, her, its, our, their
whose (interrogative)
number person gender
possessive
adjective
example sentence
singular
1st male/female my This is my book.
2nd male/female your I like your hair.
3rd
male his His name is "John".
female her Her name is "Mary".
neuter its
The dog is licking its
paw.
plural
1st male/female our
We have sold our
house.
2nd male/female your
Your children are
lovely.
3rd male/female/neuter their
The students thanked
their teacher.

singular/plural 1st/2nd/3rd
male/female (not
neuter)
whose
Whose phone did you
use?
Compare:
your = possessive adjective
you're = you are
its = possessive adjective
it's = it is OR it has
their = possessive adjective
they're = they are
there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
whose = possessive adjective
who's = who is OR who has
Be careful! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe
to write the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example:
it's raining = it is raining
it's finished = it has finished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.
What Are Possessive Adjectives?
The possessive adjectives are:
my
your
his
her
its
our
their
whose
Possessive adjectives are used to indicate who (or what) owns something.
Examples of Possessive Adjectives
Here are some possessive adjectives in sentences:
My head goes woozy when you climb your ladder.
Take his spoon and put it by your plate.
She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon. (Groucho Marx)
It only wants its ball back.
Possessive Adjectives Are a Type of Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. As possessive adjectives replace nouns, they are
classified as pronouns. For this reason, they are also called possessive pronouns. The term
possessive pronoun covers all the pronouns that demonstrate ownership. Look at these
examples:
This is Sarah's hat.
This is her hat.
(In this example, the possessive adjective her replaces Sarah. That's why it's classified
as a pronoun as well as an adjective.)
This hat is hers.
(In this example, the word hers replaces Sarah's hat. Therefore, hers is a possessive
pronoun too. As it's one that can stand alone, it is known as an absolute possessive
pronoun.)

Read more at http://www.grammar-
monster.com/glossary/possessive_adjectives.htm#sqzi4RQOGDIVQ9Ad.99

Possessive Adjectives
and
Possessive Pronouns


Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns in
English are often confusing--because most of them are
very similar in form and one has exactly the same form
for both the adjective and the pronoun.

possessive
adjectives

possessive
pronouns

my

mine

your

yours

his

his

her

hers

its

--- *

our

ours

your (plural)

yours (plural)

their

theirs

The grammar requirements for possessive adjectives and
possessive pronouns are different, however:
possessive
adjectives

Use these with nouns or
noun phrases:
What's my / your / his / her / its /
our / their problem?
Jill doesn't have my / your / his /
her / our / their home phone number.

possessive
pronouns

Use these alone. Don't use them
with nouns or noun phrases:
Everyone has problems. What's
mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs?
Joe has everyone's home phone
numbers except mine / yours /
hers / ours / theirs.
___________________________________________

Special Notes:
1.

Important: Adjectives are not plural in
English, so possessive adjectives have
only one form:
That's my / your / his / her / our / their key.
Those are my / your / his / her / our / their keys.

2.

Important: Do not use possessive pronouns
with nouns or noun phrases:
< FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="+1">wrong: Those are *theirs
books.
wrong: Have you met *mine brother?

3.

Remember: There is no commonly used
possessive pronoun for it.

4.

The words its and it's are pronounced the
same, but they have different meanings
and grammar:
its = possessive adjective
it's = contraction for it is or it has
Do not use it's for a possessive pronoun:
wrong: What are *it's main advantages?
wrong: Read the instruction manual.
*It's directions are easy to understand.

The difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective is best understood
when the definitions of each are clear. A pronoun is a term used in place of a noun: she, you,
they, we, and it. An adjective is used to modify or describe a noun, or in some cases an
adverb: Ugly dog, beautiful tree, tasty soup.
People may get confused with the distinctions between a possessive pronoun and a possessive
adjective because the words used as possessive pronouns are often slight modifications of the
words used for possessive adjectives. The main distinction is that the possessive pronoun is
used in place of a noun, while the possessive adjective will always modify a noun.
Consider the following example:
The car is Sallys.
If we want to substitute in a possessive pronoun to replace the noun Sallys, wed merely
write:
The car is hers.
This is clearly a possessive pronoun since we have taken out the possessive noun
Sallys and replaced it with hers.
When youre trying to determine the difference between a possessive pronoun and a
possessive adjective, a further example helps. I f we want to use a possessive
adjective, we might write:
That is her car.
Suddenly, instead of using a pronoun, we have used her to modify and
further describe the noun car, Her is an adjective in this case, indicating
possession.